Wally Ellenson transfers to Marquette to play basketball

[BleedGopher]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I'm excited to join Marquette University and be part of the basketball family. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wearemarquette?src=hash">#wearemarquette</a></p>— TheKangarooKid (@wallyellenson) <a href="https://twitter.com/wallyellenson/statuses/484384436616560640">July 2, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!

 

[Go4]

i guess this ends the drama in the henry ellenson recruitment, despite how ever long he chooses to drag it out.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Anybody want to start a pool for picking the date a teammate punches him?

 

[SelectionSunday]

i guess this ends the drama in the henry ellenson recruitment, despite how ever long he chooses to drag it out.

Yep, it's not too obvious what's going on there. Let's see if that helps Marquette land Henry.

Best of luck to Wally (seriously, he seems like a decent kid), but most importantly best of luck to Wojo dealing with the parents!

 

[AO54]

do they really say "we are marquette"? don't you just want to punch anyone who keeps saying that. we get it, we've heard of the school before.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Good news for Gopher fans because I kind of doubt Henry would go to Wisconsin while Wally is at Marquette. Not saying Henry goes to Marquette, but I don't see him going to the in-state rival.

 

[Myke]

I'd be absolutely shocked if Henry doesn't go to Marquette now. What will be interesting to see is how much playing time Wojo will need to give Wally to keep the family happy. At least he doesn't have to worry about playing him this coming season.

 

[MadtownGopher]

do they really say "we are marquette"? don't you just want to punch anyone who keeps saying that. we get it, we've heard of the school before.

Really? That annoys you? It's the same thing as Ski-U-Mah! or On Wisconsin! or War Eagle! or Roll Tide! etc. etc.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

Good thing for Wojo Wally has to sit out a year or else we would hear this about Henry wearing some Marquette garb in support of his brother...

Nope, he said, adding, "I don't think that it's working in the Golden Eagle' favor when (Wally) isn't getting any playing time."

 

[mnsportsgeek]

How did Wally swing that? Has he shown any basketball skills that warrant a second big name offer? The only thing I've seen is he can jump high and be a ball hog.

 

[MadtownGopher]

I'd be absolutely shocked if Henry doesn't go to Marquette now. What will be interesting to see is how much playing time Wojo will need to give Wally to keep the family happy. At least he doesn't have to worry about playing him this coming season.

As a Marquette fan, I really hope Henry does go there otherwise Wojo is taking on a lot of crazy (Ellenson's parents) with very little payoff.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

do they really say "we are marquette"? don't you just want to punch anyone who keeps saying that. we get it, we've heard of the school before.

YES! But I have a long history of punching people in the face.

 

[AO54]

Really? That annoys you? It's the same thing as Ski-U-Mah! or On Wisconsin! or War Eagle! or Roll Tide! etc. etc.

Those are unique. "we are XXX" is not.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

How did Wally swing that? Has he shown any basketball skills that warrant a second big name offer? The only thing I've seen is he can jump high and be a ball hog.

No idea, it must have a lot to do with his brother. The kid shoots bricks when the lights are on.

 

[Myke]

As a Marquette fan, I really hope Henry does go there otherwise Wojo is taking on a lot of crazy (Ellenson's parents) with very little payoff.

Why else would he take him on? This stuff happens all the time to land big recruits. Coach K did it with the Plumlees. USC did it to get DeRozan a little while back (gave Lil Romeo a scholarship). Probably many more examples that I can't think of.

 

[StCroix]

I have to believe Henry is going to end up there as well. That was where their dad, John originally went to school before transferring to Wisconsin.

Everything I had heard recently was that Wally was leaning Baylor (track)...maybe they were not willing to let him play basketball.

Good for Wally...wish him nothing but the best.

Ev

 

[die hard gopher]

On scholarship? I would have predicted something like Green Bay or Drake.

 

[goldenboy]

They spelled it wrong. I believe it was "We Are Marshall" (I saw the movie). They got the first three letters of the school right, unless they're just poaching the slogan.

 

[howeda7]

How did Wally swing that? Has he shown any basketball skills that warrant a second big name offer? The only thing I've seen is he can jump high and be a ball hog.

He plays a mean game of basketball hackey-sack on the sidelines while his teammates are warming up...

 

[dpodoll68]

Really? That annoys you? It's the same thing as Ski-U-Mah! or On Wisconsin! or War Eagle! or Roll Tide! etc. etc.

Not really. Those are unique. The "We Are" is severely overplayed and is used by umpteen different schools now.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

He plays a mean game of basketball hackey-sack on the sidelines while his teammates are warming up...

He plays a mean game of pocket pool during the game while his teammates are playing the game...

 

[dpodoll68]

Coach K did it with the Plumlees.

I don't really see how that applies, since Miles Plumlee was a borderline top-100 recruit and started 79 games in the NBA this year. Wally has as much chance to play in the NBA as you or me. Also, Duke doesn't need to offer packages to get elite players to go there.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

I don't really see how that applies, since Miles Plumlee was a borderline top-100 recruit and started 79 games in the NBA this year. Wally has as much chance to play in the NBA as you or me. Also, Duke doesn't need to offer packages to get elite players to go there.

Dpod with a reasonable and logical argument destroys Myke.

 

[EG#9]

At some point we may need to consider something similar to this to attract top talent to our team. 3 years of Wally on scholarship is a big price to pay for Henry Ellenson, even bigger if Henry only stays a years or two. Obviously, that price can be negated by hitting on a high percentage of your other recruits. It's not a big deal to have Wally taking up a bench spot if you've got 8-9 good players. It's a much bigger deal if you're in a situation like the Gophers have been in recent seasons where we've had 4-5 guys who lacked the talent to contribute significantly to an NCAA team.

This is a risk for Wojo early in his coaching tenure, but almost certainly one worth taking.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

At some point we may need to consider something similar to this to attract top talent to our team. 3 years of Wally on scholarship is a big price to pay for Henry Ellenson, even bigger if Henry only stays a years or two. Obviously, that price can be negated by hitting on a high percentage of your other recruits. It's not a big deal to have Wally taking up a bench spot if you've got 8-9 good players. It's a much bigger deal if you're in a situation like the Gophers have been in recent seasons where we've had 4-5 guys who lacked the talent to contribute significantly to an NCAA team.

This is a risk for Wojo early in his coaching tenure, but almost certainly one worth taking.

Has Marquette had any other defections? I feel like they lost a couple recruits that were "signed" but did any current scholarship athletes jump ship?

 

[UWOle]

I fully expect Henry to end up at Marquette, though I don't think it will happen until later this fall. Tough blow for UW, as Henry could have been a great fit for how the Badgers use their bigs.

 

[WanderingGopher]

I fully expect Henry to end up at Marquette, though I don't think it will happen until later this fall. Tough blow for UW, as Henry could have been a great fit for how the Badgers use their bigs.

I am not surprised Bo refused to use a scholarship on a so-so, not 100% hoops-focused player like Wally just to get his stud brother.

In any event, the real tough blow was on Minnesota, which used 2 years of scholarship on Wally warming the bench, and probably had Henry in the bag until we fired our coach and Wally clashed with the new one. Also, Henry's ranking took off right about the time Wally quit, which rubs it in. At least Wally did the track team proud.

 

[WanderingGopher]

As a Marquette fan, I really hope Henry does go there otherwise Wojo is taking on a lot of crazy (Ellenson's parents) with very little payoff.

Is Marquette D1 in track and field? Does he have to sit out a year in track, too? (I presume he would)

I almost wonder if Wally is just going to train on his own (or maybe bring in a coach or fly out to a coach periodically) over the next year, will try for the Olympics in 2016, and is just using Marquette to be on scholarship. I don't see how it's going to work for him to play basketball before 2016 if he's trying for the Olympics (tx redshirt year next year, then will need to train for spring 2016 trials). And seeing as he just took 2nd in the NCAA as a sophomore, I'd think he has a realistic shot at making the team in 2 years.

 

[RunGopherRun]

From what I've heard, Wally had a full scholarship offer from Baylor to solely HJ, but wanted to play basketball. My sources have told me the U offered him 50% for track.

Part of me feels bad for the kid. I get it, though. He loves playing basketball and doesn't want to give it up. But I think that he has blown a great opportunity to excel at his obviously superior sport, which is track. Doesn't the family see that Wally is just a bargaining chip for Henry? They are just letting this all happen.

As far as the likelihood that Wally were to make the 2016 olympic team...I would still put the chances at slim, but much better than I would have thought last year. He would need to add 2 to 3" onto his personal best, and consistently jump around 2.25m (7'4"+) to become an elite high jumper at the national level. He is still very raw and would really benefit from year round track training. I'm no expert on Marquette track and field, but from looking at their performance lists, they are not good. I do know that what they are doing at the U was working and he was developing. I'm afraid that he's really going to regret this decision in a few years.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Is Marquette D1 in track and field? Does he have to sit out a year in track, too? (I presume he would)

I almost wonder if Wally is just going to train on his own (or maybe bring in a coach or fly out to a coach periodically) over the next year, will try for the Olympics in 2016, and is just using Marquette to be on scholarship. I don't see how it's going to work for him to play basketball before 2016 if he's trying for the Olympics (tx redshirt year next year, then will need to train for spring 2016 trials). And seeing as he just took 2nd in the NCAA as a sophomore, I'd think he has a realistic shot at making the team in 2 years.

Marquette does have track.